


Fatherhood

by spartanroses (babybrotherdean)



Category: God of War (Video Games)
Genre: Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 20:18:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15151046
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babybrotherdean/pseuds/spartanroses
Summary: Atreus is still weak. His body must demand the rest, fighting to compensate for his early birth and the cold climate. It concerns Kratos deeply, though he tries to keep that to himself.





	Fatherhood

**Author's Note:**

> Back at it again with large dad holding tiny boy. This is genuinely the only thing I care about in life.
> 
> I got a lot of really lovely feedback on the other bit I wrote, and I just wanted to keep going with the soft things. I might venture into some other territory when I get the ambition, but I had some free time, and this is what came of it.

“Hold him, Kratos,” Faye orders as she holds out their infant son for him to take. She’s already halfway out the door, boots on and insisting that her garden needs tending before the frost sets in again. As Kratos opens his mouth to suggest, once more, that he do it for her, she cuts him off. “I will not be far. Hold him and keep him warm.”

With no desire to start a fight and no other options at hand, Kratos exhales before reaching out and very, very gently taking Atreus into his arms.

The boy is still tiny, bundled up in furs to stave off the cold air. He is resting, eyes closed, and as Kratos brings him in close, he does not stir, apparently content to remain as he is. He spends much of his time sleeping, this boy, and it worries Kratos. Calliope was always waking him up at all hours of the night, demanding attention and care, but Atreus…

Atreus is still weak. His body must demand the rest, fighting to compensate for his early birth and the cold climate. It concerns Kratos deeply, though he tries to keep that to himself.

“I will not be far,” Faye repeats softly, and Kratos looks up from Atreus’ face to meet her eyes. She smiles at him, lifting a hand to touch his cheek. “If he starts to cry, call for me. He might be hungry.”

Kratos nods once, and Faye turns to leave, pulling on her coat before slipping out the door. She pulls it shut tightly behind her, and Kratos is left with their son, small and quiet where he rests, and Kratos gives himself a moment to just look.

The boy is fair-skinned, like his mother. He has a small tuft of hair that matches hers in colour, and his eyes are the same, too, though they remain closed for now. In truth, Kratos sees nothing of himself in Atreus, but privately, it pleases him. With any luck, he will take after his mother in temperament, as well, and the world will be better for it.

Slowly, Kratos sits at their small dinner table, still holding Atreus close to his chest. Though he still fears for the boy’s health, he can feel long-buried emotions trying to push their way to the surface; the hopeful warmth of fatherhood that he left behind after losing his daughter. It would be safer, perhaps, to keep them tucked away, in case the boy is yet taken from them, but the longer he looks at the tiny bundle in his arms-

Atreus could grow up strong, he thinks. He could learn to hunt, to survive. Be the man his mother wishes him to be; the man that Kratos never was. He could make them both proud, and be the healthy, happy child that Kratos has always yearned for.

Atreus shifts in his sleep, and Kratos shushes him gently, holds him closer. He ensures that the blankets are tucked properly around his boy and then brushes careful fingertips over the top of his head.

A lifetime of possibilities stretches out in front of him, and his heart clenches. A second chance at what he ruined with Calliope; the chance to be a father, and to do it right.

Atreus is his, and Kratos will not squander that. Not this time.

Faye returns a short while after, and finds Kratos still holding their child, rocking gently while he hums a song from his homeland. His voice is rough and low and quiet, and he stops when he notices he is no longer alone with the boy, but his spirit feels light and he does not let go of Atreus.

He will not make the same mistakes again.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! <3


End file.
